Last month I started having some lower back pain. I can’t isolate any one particular incident that caused it, I just remember it feeling a little uncomfortable and thought it was nothing. When you’re a pretty active person aches and pains are somewhat normal so I didn’t think anything of it. Since I got back from my big trip I’ve been working out a lot more consistently than I have been and staying ontop of mobility and stretching stuff so I figured the pain would go away but it kept getting worse. I was riding by bike home in the rain on November 5th (going pretty fast) and the handle bars twisted (shitty bike) and I went head first over them. After that the pain was pretty bad and after a couple more days I finally went for an X-ray

Needless to say I was pretty devastated because this month has one of the biggest (if not the biggest) BASE Jumping gatherings in the world – The Turkey Boogie. For the last two years it’s been the highlight of my year and finding out that I wasn’t going to be able to jump at it was heart breaking. This entire year has pretty much been one of the worst years of my life in many ways. There are always ups and downs in life but this year they were a lot more violent than normal.

I guess it’s part and parcel with the life I have chosen to live but at the same time I wouldn’t change it. All the bullshit from this year was necessary and I’m sure at some point I’ll look back and appreciate what I’ve had to go through. At the same time it’s not like I’m dying or 50k in debt so I’m not going to become a winy bitch about it, I’m just acknowledging that this year was —> Shit.

Nichelle came down on the 11th, we set her brakes, went camping by ourselves for a week, and then went to MOAB for the boogie.

I’ve started to really get into film making a lot more over the past few months, trying new things, using different editing techniques and watching lots of tutorials on how to do certain things.

Bits and pieces have been in my monthly edits and this month I’ve started to mesh everything together a lot more. Having to make a video every month has given me a lot more time in the trenches and I feel like I’ve learned more in this year about editing than I have in the past 17 years since I first started doing it. It’s always just been a hobby for me and I never really gave much thought to things other than trying to film things as best I can and then find a cool song to edit the clips to. My game is ready to be elevated and this months ‘travel video’ is the first of this kinda style.

Hope you enjoy.

The gathering itself was awesome. I got to see a bunch of my friends and of course the party was amazing. I honestly look forward to that party all year and even now I can’t wait till next year.

Not jumping and being around it was a very new experience for me and while I would never actively choose it I am happy I went and I can take some positives from this injury.

In this game dealing with injuries personally as well as being there for your friends while they are hurt is a skill in itself and I’m dealing with it as best I can. I’m not sure exactly how long I’ll be out but I know that I will come back stronger than I was and with a new perspective and appreciation for this life.

Next month sparks a new beginning for me and I’m excited for what lies ahead.